Rice Business Learn Investments Dashboard


Kerry Back & Kevin Crotty

The Learn Investments Dashboard

  • Interactive figures and tables illustrating investment concepts
  • Over 80 pages covering:
  1. Time Value of Money
  2. Risk and Return
  3. Portfolios
  4. Capital Asset Pricing Model
  1. Sorts and Factors
  2. Funds and Taxes
  3. Futures and Options
  4. Fixed Income

Some examples from each section

Teaching Benefit #1: Interactive figures

  • Interactive figures facilitate economic discussion
  • Sliders allow figure to change in real time
  • Hover data provides additional information to the pictures
  • Plotly legend allows isolation of part of the figure

Teaching Benefit #2: More data in the classroom

  • The site facilitates real-time and historical data without requiring students to pull and organize it themselves
  • Visualization: seeing is believing
  • Helps engage students in the classroom discussion
  • About 1/3 of the pages utilize data

Teaching Benefit #3: Introducing Python

  • Underlying Python code available in linked Google Colab notebooks
  • Totally optional feature
  • Useful if professor (or student!) wants to alter the set-up

Example #1: Optimal Portfolios

Optimal portfolio teaching discussions

  • Optimal combination of risky assets without/with a risk-free asset?
  • What is the effect of correlation on the above?
  • What is the effect of input uncertainty on the above?
  • How should a particular individual invest?

Optimal Capital Allocation

Optimal Portfolios: Correlation

Optimal Portfolios: Input Uncertainty

Optimal Portfolios: Risk Aversion

Example #2: Discussion of Momentum

Momentum effect teaching discussions

  • What if we sort stocks based on prior realized returns?

  • How has this effect varied over time?

Sorts on Characteristics

  • Can a retail investor get momentum exposure?

Evaluation of Mutual Funds

Sorts on Momentum

Market-model regression: MOM

Active and market benchmark returns: MOM

Active and multi-factor benchmark returns: MOM

Example #3: Option valuation

Option valuation teaching discussions

  • Visualizing Black-Scholes option valuation through simulation

Monte Carlo Option Valuation Open In Colab





Learn Investments